Sunday, September 1, 2013

CANADA, hey, AND BEYOND

We zipped into Canada, no problems, but the border patrol couldn’t believe that with Texas license we had no guns. Chuck told him that he was ex-military and thus needed no gun for defense, and the guard not knowing him, actually took him at his word. Going into the part of Ontario that we were, campgrounds are very limited, and we ended up spending the first night in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Thankfully the weather was cool, and we did get some sleep, but the place we parked was a shortcut, so the traffic was non stop most of the night. It was wonderful to see our good friend, Lois. It had been 4 years, which was way too long. The first couple of days we spent getting caught up, and Chuck got in a round of golf. Unfortunately Lois started coming down with a sore throat and a terrible cold, and when she was getting worse right before our eyes, we decided that leaving was the only thing to do. Knowing that if we stayed she would soldier through and probably end up in the hospital, which she has visited way too many times this year, we were off. We only had a 130 miles to Niagara Falls, other than going through Toronto there was no problem. We have been here a couple of times before, but it never fails to impress. Wow, the view, the roar, just the majesty. Awesome.Then it was off to Chucks home town of Myerstown, PA. Pennsylvania has an abundance of country roads, and our GPS managed to plan our route so we saw our fair share. Turn right, turn left, repeat and repeat. Ten miles from his hometown, he still had not seen anything that sounded or looked familiar. But it did get us there, and we parked the RV in the back of Chucks nieces yard. Lovely, we had a gentle stream running by. Usually when we have been in the area we parked in an RV park, but the closest are about 30 miles away, so it was always a drive. This was so much nicer. And we did manage to put together a mini family reunion. Chucks sister and BIL, Anna Mae and Jim,came up from West Virginia, along with a few other more distant family members. We do so thank our hosts, Debbie and Norman, for their hospitality, as we literally invaded their lives. We have traveled this summer as no other, with the only destination being the Escapade in Gillette, WY, after that it was ????? where ever the wheels took us. Hart Ranch in South Dakota, friends in Harlan, Ohio, Amana Colonies, Ohio then Goshen, Indiana, for the FROG rally, well heck, Mike and Leslie are only a 100 miles away, then on to see Lois in Owasha, Ontario. After our quick visit to Canada, we were just a short distance from PA, simple when you think about it. And that is how we ended up so far away from where we started. The first leg of the trip back is like1700 miles, and we have a 3 day holiday weekend coming up. So we thought we would settle down some place along the way and wait it out.

Longaberger Basket Headquarters

Unfortunately there was no place that we wanted to spend any length of time at, being as we camped at Passport America parks, and other than one, they were not that great. But the price was right! So we decided we would just push on to Springs. We knew our daughter and family were all gone for the holiday, but we thought that it would be no problem spending the time at the famcamp on the Air Force Academy, as it is a large campground. Well not when it is parents week end at the Academy! They were beyond full. Elks lodge, yes, they do have RV facilities, but only one left, we are 15 miles away, bummer, when we got there, taken, they said we could stay in the parking lot, free,and it was a large one, and private. But it was hot, and we called around and found an opening near our daughters. By no means what we had anticipated, but off the street. And not far from here is a wonderful patio, with all the amenities where we can go for a picnic, our daughters patio. Unfortunately we do not have a key to their house, and they are in the mountains with no cell service. Oh well, we had planned to hunker down for the week end. Next week we plan to purge the storage shed that we are sharing with our daughter. They are planning on an adventure of their own, moving to Guam for at least 6 months so they can get their fill of scuba diving while they are still able. They are putting their home into a vacation rental pool, but will store their personal items, so they can use the space. And other than a few things in storage, if we have not needed anything in all these years, it does not seem likely we will ever need it.